Attorney John Burris has announced he will file a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the family of Mario Woods, the 26-year-old San Francisco man SFPD shot to death on December 2nd.
Police have maintained that the shooting was a measure taken in self defense, but Burris likens the killing to those of Laquan MacDonald and Ronald Johnson in Chicago. “Mario was used as target practice by reckless and malicious San Francisco police officers.” Burris said, noting the 21 wounds to Woods' body. “[The] killing is an outrage and an affront to the African American community.”
With the help of an independent audiovisual expert, Burris' team has enhanced new cell phone footage — which is graphic and disturbing — of the incident.
At a press conference from Burris and the Woods family, Chris Roberts of SF Weekly notes that based on the enhanced footage, Burris' team questions key components of the police story.
Burris: no knife in #MarioWoods hands. No information about prior alleged stabbing victim. "We are not confident" stabbing even happened.
— Chris Roberts (@cbloggy) December 11, 2015
Burris: no knife in #MarioWoods hands. No information about prior alleged stabbing victim. "We are not confident" stabbing even happened.
— Chris Roberts (@cbloggy) December 11, 2015
Burris coming out with it: SFPD Chief Greg Suhr "made a false statement" about how #MarioWoods died.
— Chris Roberts (@cbloggy) December 11, 2015
Meanwhile, the Examiner reports that high school students staging walkouts have headed to City Hall in protest of Woods'death
“Lincoln High School, June Jordan, Mission, Balboa, Galileo and many more schools are walking out this Friday to city hall to stop police brutality and justice for Mario Woods who was shot and killed by police men last week in the Bayview District,” reads one announcement shared with the media. “This needs to come to an end and we will fight until its over.”
Students have left City Hall and are marching down Market #MarioWoods pic.twitter.com/AmLg0iMlVo
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) December 11, 2015
Previously: Police Commission Meeting About Mario Woods Shooting Erupts In Chaos